text:
Today, for the second time, the Council is holding a special meeting to
discuss the issue related to my country. Only 12 hours
ago, in this Chamber, I stated that there were disturbing
signs that Georgia is facing a well-calculated
provocation to escalate the situation in order to justify
a premeditated military intervention from the Russian
Federation. That evaluation has been transformed into
a brutal reality.
2
Allow me to update the members of the Security
Council on the extremely alarming developments that
are taking place in Georgia now.

This morning, the Russian Federation started a
full-scale military invasion of Georgia. Here is an
outline of the events that took place today, and we have
provided a map for members, to vividly illustrate the
places on sovereign Georgian territory that were
bombed by the Russian Federation.

At 5.30 a.m., the first Russian troops entered
South Ossetia through the Roki tunnel, passed Java,
crossed the Gufta bridge and moved towards
Tskhinvali.

At 9.45 a.m., according to witnesses from the
local population, a military fighter plane dropped
approximately three to five bombs near the village of
Shayshvebi, 300 or 500 metres from Georgian military
radar.

At 10.30 a.m., Russian Su-24 bombers bombed
the village of Variani, in the Kareli district; seven
civilians were injured.

At 10.50 a.m., six Su-24 bombers entered
Georgian territory from the Roki pass. At 10.57 a.m.,
two of them dropped three bombs in Gori. One of them
fell near a stadium, the second near the other slope, and
the third near an artillery brigade.

At 11.45 a.m., four Su-24s entered from the
direction of the Russian Federation, Kazbegi region, on
the Georgian side. Two of them passed Tbilisi and
made two circles around Marneuli. The other two made
a circle above Gudauri.

At 11.45 a.m., the civil aviation emergency
service reported that they had received signals from a
crashed flying object - presumably a Russian fighter
plane - near the luri range, 17 kilometres south of
Gori.

By 12 noon, eight Georgians - six military and
two civilians - had died, and 87 were injured. One
military truck with ammunition was destroyed.

At 12.05 p.m., one Su-24 entered Georgian air
space from Russia and remained over Tskhinvali until
12.15.

At 3.05 p.m., a Russian military plane entered
Georgia from the direction of Tedzami, dropped two
bombs at the Vaziani military airport and turned back.
08-45515
Russian aviation also bombed the Marneuli and Bolnisi
military bases. Two aircraft were destroyed on the
ground. Several buildings were also destroyed, and
there were casualties. At 5 p.m., the Marneuli military
base was bombed for the second time, causing
fatalities. At 5.35 p.m., the Marneuli military base was
bombed for the third time, resulting in one dead and
four injured. As a result of the three bombings, three
An-2 planes and military vehicles stationed there were
destroyed.

It became known to the Government of Georgia
that, on 8 August 2008, a large amount of heavy
military equipment and personnel belonging to the
Russian Federation illegally entered the territory of
Georgia through the Roki tunnel. The Russian side
openly declared that the task of those military units
was to support the criminal regime of Tskhinvali in the
fight against the Government of Georgia. In order to
justify its actions, the Russian Federation is
speculating that Georgian authorities are targeting the
positions of Russian peacekeepers. Nothing could be
further from the truth. I can say with full responsibility
that Georgian troops are not targeting peacekeepers. I
want to stress that the Government's actions were
taken in self-defence after repeated armed provocations
and with the sole goal of protecting the civilian
population and preventing further loss of life among
the region's residents, who are of various ethnic
backgrounds.

The world is witnessing a direct and open
violation of universally recognized norms and
principles of international law. Russia is openly
challenging the international community and
jeopardizing established international order and
stability in the wider trans-Caucasus. The Russian
military aggression is intended to subdue Georgia and
make it give up its Euro-Atlantic aspirations, to make
Georgia and the region succumb to Russian political
influence and to destroy all the democratic
achievements accomplished by our country and the
international community in recent years.

We demand that the Russian Federation
immediately terminate the aerial bombardments,
immediately pull out the occupying forces and,
together with the relevant international actors,
negotiate a ceasefire and mechanisms to ensure lasting
peace and stability in this part of Georgia. President
Saakashvili is offering direct dialogue with the Russian
Federation and other interested parties to seek a

negotiated solution to this tragic conflict. We are
grateful to the European Union, to the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe and to other
international actors for their readiness to engage.

As we are having this discussion, the city of
Tskhinvali is under heavy shelling and air
bombardment from Russian military forces.

speaker: Mr. Alasania

gender: M

country: Georgia

topic: Georgia

conflict: Georia

label: Appreciation-impact-negative

label: Inscribed

label: Invoked

label: Judgement-propriety-negative

label: Appreciation-valuation-positive

label: Appreciation-complexity-positive

label: Appreciation-quality-negative

label: Affect-security-positive

label: Judgement-veracity-positive

label: Judgement-propriety-positive

label: Affect-inclination-positive

label: Affect-satisfaction-positive


text:
I would like to thank the Ministers of Malaysia, the Netherlands,
Australia and Ukraine for marking this occasion with
their presence.

The United Kingdom is deeply saddened, frustrated
and disappointed that Russia has vetoed draft resolution
S/2015/562 today. The draft resolution was about
securing justice for the 298 people - including 80
children and 10 British nationals - who lost their lives
on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17. Russia's
veto disrespects the victims and insults their families.
Through resolution 2166 (2014), the Security Council
unanimously agreed that those responsible for that
incident be held to account and demanded that all States
cooperate fully with efforts to establish accountability.
With its veto, Russia is not meeting that demand.

The Security Council had an opportunity today
to start a process that would have brought justice and
accountability for the families of all those who lost their
lives. There are clear precedents for the Council taking
this kind of action: securing international support for
the Lockerby trial, and establishing the International
Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and another Special
Tribune for Lebanon, among others. A year after the
downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17, this was
precisely the moment to establish a tribunal - to send
a clear and unambiguous message that the Council will
not tolerate impunity and that the Council has a clear
responsibility to address violent acts that constitute a
threat to international peace and security. We therefore
reject the Russian allegation that this draft resolution
was an unnecessary and premature move, and that
the Security Council should have waited for the
investigations to conclude. An operational and fully
staffed tribunal takes time to set up. Had we started
that process today, the tribunal would have been ideally
placed to act on the outcome of the investigations.

Despite Russia's veto, the investigations will
continue. The investigators have been exemplary in
their professionalism and integrity, working in the most
challenging circumstances. We reject any allegations
to the contrary. Russia has been involved in both
investigations. The Russian Federal Transport Agency
has actively participated in the technical investigation
and contributed material to the criminal investigation.
It is damaging that Russia has chosen to block the
best route to establishing a tribunal for that criminal
investigation to reach a conclusion. It is through those
investigations that we will bring those responsible to
account - as resolution 2166 (2014) demands. The
veto today will not prevent that. The perpetrators of
that terrible crime should find no comfort in Russia's
actions today. There must be accountability, and the
international community now needs to unite to make
that happen.

Allow me to conclude by returning to the victims.
To them, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-l7 was meant
to be a routine flight to Kuala Lumpur: a business trip,
a holiday or a stop-over before a conference. Instead,
all 298 people on board lost their lives in a remote
part of eastern Ukraine - far from home, far from
those they loved and far from those who loved them.
They and those whom they left behind deserve justice.
Despite Russia's actions today, we will not give up in
our pursuit of that goal.

speaker: Mr. Rycroft

country: United Kingdom)'

topic: Letter dated 28 February 2014 from the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the United Nations addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2014/136)

conflict: Ukraine

label: Affect-happiness--negative

label: Affect-inclination-negative

label: No annotation

label: Appreciation-valuation-negative

label: Appreciation-quality-positive


text:
Let me congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency.
Your energy and fairness have already been of immeasurable help this month, and I am sure they will continue to be. I would also like to warmly thank the Permanent Representative of Rwanda for his hard work during December.

Let me join my colleagues in welcoming our new colleagues to what is going to be a very busy period for the Security Council and in thanking those who have just completed their term. Of course, through the Italian Mission, we would very much like to welcome Foreign Minister Martino; we are glad he was here.

The sanctions regime that the Council has enacted over time is vital to our effort to persuade the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) and the Pale Serbs that a peaceful resolution of the Bosnia conflict is in their interest. The resolution we have just adopted is an indication that our effort to persuade Belgrade to pressure the Pale Serbs to accept a just and viable peace has begun to show results. There should be no doubt that my Government's willingness to support this resolution was a direct result of our conclusion that the Government in Belgrade has moved to implement its decision to close the border by making it less porous over time, a process which it significantly augmented by imposing new measures in recent weeks.

But further efforts must be made to ensure that the border is more effectively closed. In that context, we are especially gratified that the Council is today reaffirming its prohibition of transshipments through Bosnian territory controlled by the Pale Serbs. By doing so, we are not adding any sanctions provisions. Transshipments through Bosnian Serb-controlled territory to the United Nations Protected Areas in Croatia without the permission of the relevant Governments were, and continue to be, clear violations of paragraph 12 of resolution 820 (1993). The United States expects that paragraph to be complied with.

There have been suggestions made, not by members of this Council, that the provisions of paragraph 12 of resolution 820 (1993) do not apply to shipments from Serbia and Montenegro to Serb-held territory in Croatia.
This contention is obviously inconsistent with the Council's previous decisions, including the border closure we are reviewing today. Tolerating illegal transshipments to the United Nations Protected Areas in Croatia without an assurance that these goods would not find their way back into Bosnian Serb-controlled territory undermined the logic of the border closure. There can be no doubt that these illegal transshipments were an obvious contravention of the letter and spirit of our resolutions.
The Security Council is reaffirming that these transshipments are prohibited. We expect that others will accept the Council's decision and take their guidance from it.

  However, the effectiveness of the border closure will require continued vigilance by the international community, the monitoring Mission of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia (ICFY) and the officials of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. We cannot allow any backsliding towards Belgrade's earlier, inadequate level of compliance. Although we believe that the border closure is now effective - in large part because of the actions taken by officials of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the ICFY Mission in the 40 days leading up to our decision today - we expect to see continued improvement over the next 100 days.

In particular, we expect that there will be physical closure of all border crossing points not covered by the ICFY Mission on a 24-hour basis; dismantlement of river ferries and physical closure of ferry sites; continued monitoring of train shipments transiting Bosnia and Herzegovina; an end to exports exiting from Bosnia and Herzegovina; control of smuggling, even by individuals; an end to all logistic and other support for the Bosnian Serb military; the thorough investigation and diligent prosecution and punishment of persons violating the border closure; and the severance of telecommunications links between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and Pale Serb-held territory, which the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia itself imposed but recently rescinded.

We look forward to the Secretary General's periodic reports on the status of the border closure and, in particular, to the certification on transshipments required under operative paragraph 5. An inability to make such a certification will have consequences. During the next 100 days we expect that Belgrade will continue to implement the measures described in the Co-Chairmen's 4 January report and move ahead on additional measures, including those I have mentioned, that are needed to ensure effective compliance with its commitment to close the border.

speaker: Mrs. Albright

country: United States of America)'

topic: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) — Sanctions

conflict: Yugoslavia

label: Affect-happiness-positive

label: Appreciation-impact-positive

label: Appreciation-complexity-negative

label: Appreciation-impact-negative